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Monday, June 29, 2009

Dead Headlining Fourth Of July Festival

The Dead, who recently wrapped their 2009 Spring tour, are scheduled to headline the second annual Rothbury Festival at the Double JJ Ranch in Rothbury, Michigan, July 2- 5. Billed as their only summer performance, the Dead will be joined by Bob Dylan, String Cheese Incident (in their only appearance this year), the Black Crowes, Willie Nelson and over 50 jam bands.

Surviving Grateful Dead members — guitarist-singer Bob Weir, bassist Phil Lesh and drummers Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann — along with Allman Brothers Band guitarist Warren Haynes and keyboardist Jeff Chimenti, comprise this year’s Dead lineup. Although each man continues to pursue other dalliances (Lesh has his Friends, Weir’s got Ratdog, Kreutzmann gets funky with his trio BK3, and Hart’s all over the place), the word in the parking lot is that this combination has definitely kicked things up a notch to to a new musical plateau. At press time, it’s anyone’s guess as to what will happen to the Dead after Rothbury.

In addition to music and arts, the Rothbury festival promotes sustainability and overall improvements to the environment by implementing an array of ever-changing green technologies. The 2009 Rothbury Think Tank, an event within the event, explores the “New Green Economy” with various buzz sessions and roundtables between leading scientists, scholars, writers, progressive political and corporate leaders, youth leaders, artists and audience members. Multiple initiatives will be introduced to reinforce this effort, such as replacing disposables with 100% compostables, recycling and composting, choosing clean energy, carbon-offsetting, and Green Ticket options. For tickets and additional information, visit the Rothbury Festival web site.